Tag Archives: Science

This is the point.

Posted on November 13, 2014 by Pete Rowley

Yesterday the European Space Agency successfully landed the Philae lander on comet 67P. Anyone can appreciate that it’s an astonishing technical achievement, but a recurring theme I have noticed on various news article comments and discussion boards is that there’s … Continue reading →

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The Bárðarbunga dyke intrusion

Posted on August 27, 2014 by Pete Rowley

So my previous post on Bárðarbunga focussed on the geochemistry and plumbing of the volcano, but I thought it might be useful to talk a little bit about the activity we’ve witnessed over the last week or so.  While the emphasis is always … Continue reading →

Posted in Earthquakes, Geology, News, Science, Volcanism | Tagged , , , , , | 2 Comments

Bárðarbunga – Plumbing the depths

Posted on August 21, 2014 by Pete Rowley

The internet has lit up in the last three days or so with people getting (over?)excited about activity at the volcano of Bárðarbunga in Iceland, particularly since the Icelandic Meteorological Office have been gradually ramping up the Aviation Colour Code from green (“normal, non … Continue reading →

Posted in Earthquakes, Geochemistry, Geology, Geophysics, Hazard Assessment, Volcanism | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

#IAVCEI2013 wrap-up & photos

Posted on July 27, 2013 by Pete Rowley

The conference is done, the return flight completed, and the bag of laundry dealt with. The general consensus amongst those I spoke with after the conference (and a view I agree with) was that it certainly ranks up there with … Continue reading →

Posted in Geology, Hazard Assessment, News, Science, Sedimentology, Volcanism | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 4 Comments

Spaced

Posted on May 13, 2013 by Pete Rowley

Today is the day that Expedition 35 return from the International Space Station. Later tonight they will climb into the docked Soyuz capsule, and perform a re-entry back to Earth, bringing to an end a truly phenomenal period of public … Continue reading →

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Meteor madness 2 – look at the size of that thing

Posted on February 16, 2013 by Pete Rowley

So yesterday was all abuzz with cool videos of the Chelyabinsk meteor, and a whole bunch of questions.  How big was it? Did any of it hit the ground? Did it explode or not? How fast was it going? Today … Continue reading →

Posted in Astronomy, Geology, Hazard Assessment, News, Physics, Science | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Tongariro Fireworks

Posted on November 21, 2012 by Pete Rowley

Following the little spike of activity back in August, Tongariro in New Zealand reactivated today with a 5 minute explosive eruption jetting up a small plume and generating some very limited pyroclastic flows. With it being a daytime eruption, and … Continue reading →

Posted in Education, Geology, Hazard Assessment, News, Science, Volcanism | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

The insanity of the Italian legal system

Posted on October 22, 2012 by Pete Rowley

Well, it’s official. The Italian courts have found half a dozen scientists and a government official guilty of manslaughter over the failure to accurately predict the risks of the 2009 L’Aquila earthquake which killed 309 people. This has been rumbling … Continue reading →

Posted in Earthquakes, Geology, Geophysics, Hazard Assessment, Media & Perception, Not even wrong, Science | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Scaling new horizons

Posted on October 17, 2012 by Pete Rowley

It’s fair to say that when most people ask what I do, I simply reply “volcanologist”, “sedimentologist”, or “geologist”, depending on the audience. On the infrequent occasions they ask further what I do, it usually gets summed up as “I see how … Continue reading →

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New Zealand volcanoes going for gold

Posted on August 10, 2012 by Pete Rowley

While they might be 19th on the medal table, the kiwis are doing a sterling job of heading up this weeks volcano news. Both White Island and Tongaririo have shown activity this week. White Island was last active in 1980, and … Continue reading →

Posted in Geology, Hazard Assessment, Science, Volcanism | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment